Category Archives: Birthday

Ki Hadjar Dewantara (born May 2, 1889) was a leading Indonesian independence movement activist, writer, columnist, politician, and pioneer of education for native Indonesians in Dutch colonial times. He founded the Taman Siswa school, an institution that provides educations for indigenous commoners, which otherwise was limited to the Javanese aristocracy and the Dutch colonials. He was honored as a National Hero of Indonesia by Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, on 28 November 1959.

Shoen Uemura (born April 23, 1875) was the pseudonym of an important woman artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shoen Uemura was known primarily for her bijinga paintings of beautiful women in the nihonga style, although she also produced numerous works on historical themes and traditional subjects.

Bhimrao Ambedkar (born 14 April 1891), popularly known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Modern Buddhist Movement and campaigned against social discrimination of Dalits, women and labour. He was Independent India’s first law minister and the principal architect of the Constitution of India. Ambedkar was a prolific … Continue reading B.R. Ambedkar: 124th birthday→

Gabriela Mistral (born April 7, 1889) was the pseudonym of Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and feminist. Gabriela Mistral was the first Latin American (and, so far, the only Latin American woman) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she did in 1945 “for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world”.

Leonora Carrington (born 6 April 1917), was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City, and was one of the last surviving participants in the Surrealist movement of the 1930s. Leonora Carrington was also a founding member of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Mexico during the 1970s.

Seif Wanly (Egyptian Arabic:سيف وانلي, born March 31, 1906) was an Egyptian painter, born in Alexandria, Egypt, who introduced modern art to Egypt after studying at the studio of the Italian artist Otorino Becchi.

Hwang Sun-won was born while Korea was under Japanese colonial rule in Taedong, South Pyongan, in modern-day North Korea. Hwang Sun-won made his literary debut as a middle school student with the publication in 1931 of his poems “My Dream” (Naui kkum) and “Fear Not, My Son” (Adeura museowo malla) in Eastern Light (Donggwang).

Anna Atkins (Maiden name Anna Children) (16 March 1799 – 9 June 1871) was an English botanist and photographer. Anna Atkins is often considered the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images. Some sources claim that she was the first woman to create a photograph. Anna Atkins: Google Doodle Anna Atkins Early life … Continue reading Anna Atkins: 216th Birthday→